Goodrich, family find new home in Clemson

Exactly three weeks after receiving an offer from Clemson, Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West four-star cornerback Mario Goodrich committed to the Tigers on Wednesday, National Signing Day.

Goodrich (6-2, 185) announced that he will be attending Clemson on Kansas City’s local ABC affiliate KMBC channel 9’s live broadcast. The top-100 national prospect chose the Tigers over finalists Georgia and LSU.

“The coaching staff,” Goodrich said during the broadcast when asked what stood out about Clemson. “I felt like I was at home. The visit was terrific. The coaches, the players, everyone is always happy. I had that feeling in my chest when I went.”

Goodrich has yet to see a game in Death Valley. Clemson offered him on Jan. 17, and he visited there for the first time when he made his official visit the final weekend in January.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney made Goodrich feel right at home during his time on campus.

“He’s a genuine guy,” Goodrich said. “He cares about his players. They’re always at his house, and he welcomes. He’s got an open-door policy, so I just felt comfortable around him.”

Goodrich had been committed to Nebraska since May 2017 before reopening his recruitment in December. After de-committing, he also took official visits to LSU and Georgia in January.

But his parents are glad that Clemson was the choice.

“I think he made the right pick, and I had that same good feeling that he had,” Goodrich’s father said. “I was hoping that he chose them because that’s the same feeling I had, too. So, I think it was a great pick.”

Goodrich’s mother emphatically agreed.

“We know he made the right decision,” she said. “We know, we know, we know. We knew it – literally when we got there – we knew he made the right decision. Dabo is the man. We felt like we were home when we were there.”

Swinney used his in-home visit with Goodrich and his family the Monday morning following the official visit, and Clemson’s head coach helped seal the deal.

“We went on an official visit, and we came back Sunday night, and Dabo was at our home Monday morning,” Goodrich’s mom said.

Goodrich is ranked by Rivals as the No. 13 cornerback and No. 99 overall prospect in the 2018 class. As a senior, he logged 15 pass breakups and an interception.

“Mario is dynamic,” said Vinny Careswell, Goodrich’s head football coach at Lee’s Summit West. “A true competitor, and you can tell how close and how important his family is to him just by the showing here today. They played a big role in this recruiting process, in kind of guiding him through the whole process to make this decision. I’m extremely proud of Mario.”

Early in his high school career, Goodrich thought basketball — not football — was his calling.

Goodrich is certainly glad that his coaches altered his path, which is now pointed toward Clemson.

“I wasn’t going to play,” Goodrich said of football. “I was just going to focus on basketball, and they talked me in to coming out and playing, and this ended up happening.”

Goodrich, who becomes Clemson’s first signee from Missouri since at least 2002, said during KMBC’s broadcast that he plans to attend Clemson’s spring game in April.

Tuesday afternoon the bats sprung back to life for a Clemson team that struggled to get going offensively the previous weekend. The Tigers racked up 13 hits including a pair of homeruns in a 12-4 beat down of (…)

The 15th-ranked Clemson basketball team travels to Blacksburg, Va., tonight to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies at 7 p.m. This is a big game for both teams as Clemson has just a one-game lead over the (…)

There are not too many questions concerning Clemson football as it gets set to begin spring practices a week from today. Why should there be? The Tigers return 17 starters that started at least four games in (…)